


Talking to Air

by LilacColourSplash, Reckless_Defense



Series: Talking to Air [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cannon Divergent, F/M, Heck I don't even think season one was finished, Mutual Pining, Original Female Character(s)/Cannon Characters, Seriously this is set around season 1, We wrote this before season two, but also very different, even the chapter titles are occasionaly bad puns, everyone is pining, i mean its similar, obviously, the chapter titles can be quite literal, there are lots of bad puns, we apologise for the bad puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-13
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-05-01 05:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5194217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacColourSplash/pseuds/LilacColourSplash, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reckless_Defense/pseuds/Reckless_Defense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the particle accelerator exploded Charlie Khalil and Samantha Haywood were university students with ordinary lives.<br/>After the particle accelerator exploded their lives changed forever.</p><p>This is currently on hiatus. The Flash is not our current obsession and we have lost our muse for this fic. We will try our best to finish it, however, we do not want to release something sub par. We know where we are going with it but the words aren't coming. Sorry xoxo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sleeping With the Fishes

**Author's Note:**

> This Fanfiction is co-Written by Reckless-Defense (http://reckless-defense.tumblr.com/) and LilacColourSplash (aka Colourless-Lilacs) (http://colourless-lilacs.tumblr.com/)
> 
> We don’t own the Flarrow universe or any of its characters, bla bla bla no copyright infringement intended. This is our first co-written fanfic and the first either of us has posted online, so please be gentle ;)
> 
> Now that we’ve got that out of the way… we would like to apologize for the obscene number of references and puns.

The familiar scent of Mexican spices wafted through the small apartment, soft humming drifted from the compact kitchen and Sam decided that rushing her essay was the best decision she had made all week. She stared intently at the four movies she had set in front of her, trying to ignore the grumbling coming from her stomach and the tantalising smells coming from the kitchen. She had about ten minutes to decide which movie to watch first, before Charlie came marching in with the food. Frankenstein, Dracula, Carnival of Souls or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which to choose?

“Are you almost ready?” Charlie called out, her humming momentarily silenced. Make that ten Seconds.

“Uhhh… maybe?” Sam replied, picking up the movie closest to her hand.

“Carnival of Souls it is then,” She murmured, placing the movie into the VCR player. Charlie walked in with two plates just as Sam hit play.

“Burrito, mild, extra guac. Just how you like it.” Charlie passed the plate over before spreading out on her half of the sofa. Charlie hadn’t even finished the first bite of the burrito before her phone began vibrating on the coffee table, accompanied by ‘Walking on Sunshine’ playing obnoxiously loud. “Shit,” Charlie mumbled around a mouthful of food, scrambling to grab her phone as Sam sighed and paused the movie.

“Caitlin?” Charlie swallowed quickly, her brows began to furrow and her jaw set into a hard line. She nodded at something Caitlin had said before realising that Caitlin couldn’t see her. “I’ll be there as soon as humanly possible… Well not humanly possible, ‘cause you know…” she stopped suddenly, interrupted by Caitlin’s sigh and then the line went dead.

“Guess I gotta go.” Charlie supplied.

“Seriously?” Sam questioned, raising her eyebrow.

“What?” Charlie was already at the door. Sam gestured at the burrito nestled in Charlie’s hand. The girl simply grinned and turned, before almost dropping her food. Standing in the doorway was none other than the Flash, aka Barry Allen. His eyes filled with mirth as he saluted over Charlie’s head towards Sam. Charlie’s stomach dropped the second Barry had her in his arms. She knew exactly what came next.

Within seconds her feet were planted back on solid ground, though she was no longer in her apartment. Instead she was standing in the middle of S.T.A.R Laboratories. Charlie’s stomach was churning as waves of nausea rolled off her. “Shit, does it really feel that bad?” Barry said, his face contorting into a grimace. Cisco and Caitlin murmured a sound of agreement; eyes squeezed shut to attempt to block out the pain.

“Sorry,” Charlie muttered, the queasiness had finally faded enough for her to regain control of her powers. “I don’t think I’m ever gonna get used to that,”

“So, what’s going on? I’m missing movie night with Sam,” Charlie looked over at the guy sitting in the corner of the room. Her eyebrows rose questionably, “and why is he tied to a chair?”

“Ummm… Just in case?” Barry supplied.

“So Charlie… You know the Flash huh?” the guy tied to the chair said. She whipped around to face him again.

“How do you know my name?” Panic rose like bile in Charlie’s throat.

“I’m wounded Charlie, really,” he gritted out as he struggled against the ropes at his wrists.

Charlie jumped when a warm hand lightly fell on her shoulder. “Are you ok?” Cisco’s voice was comforting, and Charlie found herself nodding. Her fear was slipping further and further away the longer she stared into his soft brown eyes. The tension slowly leaked out of her, and Cisco’s hand remained a reassuring weight on her shoulder, grounding her even as she became more and more lost in his eyes.

Barry awkwardly cleared his throat, snapping the two out of their stupor. A soft crimson spread across Charlie’s cheeks. “Right… mind reading… I’ve got this.” Charlie sucked in a sharp breath and started to clear her mind, eyes fluttering closed to block out all distractions. Slowly she sunk into an infinite abyss, in the center shone a single blinding light. Other lights gradually joined the first, each of them different in shape, colour and intensity. In her mind's eye Charlie mapped out these lights, and picked the one that she wanted, less familiar than the others but not altogether foreign.

She was surprised at the lack of resistance shown by the man, instead she was picking up on a sense of smug satisfaction. Images flashed before her, memories, thoughts, feelings. Her senses were overwhelmed, and then that vast plane was gone. Panic ripped through Charlie’s chest like a bullet.

“We have to go, oh my god, Barry we have to go now.” Charlie’s eyes were the size of saucers when she turned back to Barry. She swore under her breath, grabbing Barry’s arm in an attempt to get him moving. “For the fastest man alive you’re a little slow Barry. We have to get to my apartment now. My roommate is in trouble!” Her voice was getting progressively louder and with every syllable the tied up man’s smirk grew.

“Say hi to Frank for me. That is, if you get there in time,” The ominous warning filled Charlie's ears as her and Barry bolted towards her apartment..

 ~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Sam hadn’t realised she had fallen asleep till she was awoken by a loud knock. She had drifted off to the soft, rhythmic sound of the bubbles rising in the fishtank. She cursed the tanks calming humming, before realising the reason she had woken up.

As she stood she saw Charlie’s keys lying haphazardly on the coffee table. “You need to start remembering your keys, I was asleep for crying out loud,” Sam called out as she made her way to the door. “Or you know, just come home at a decent ho-” Sam stopped mid sentence, there was no one on the other side of the door. Just as she was about to close it there was a soft mewl, on the doorstep was a fluffy ragdoll.

The cat wound itself around Sam's legs, purring softly. “You must be someone’s pet,” Sam hummed as she picked it up. “Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing,” She cooed, gently placing the cat on the lounge. It curled up on her lap and Sam restarted Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, having fallen asleep part of the way through the opening scene of the movie. Seemingly bored the cat jumped off Sam’s lap and scampered off.

“Kitty? Where do you think you’re going?” Sam asked, sighing and tuning back into the movie, her lap feeling uncomfortably cold where the cat had previously been. Sam could feel her eyelids getting heavy again, it was well past twelve o’clock and she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes open.

Suddenly, a heavy hand clamped down over Sam’s mouth. Immediately jumping to action (literally), she slipped away from it and lept off the couch. Sam almost whimpered when she recognised her attacker. Frank Johnson, one of her classmates.

“Oh Samantha,” he sighs “Silly, pretty, little Samantha.”

“Wha- How did you get into my house?”

His raucous laughter grated her ears . “You let me in Sam.”

“No I didnt!” she yelled exasperated.

“Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing,” he cooed at her, his tone mocking. He took a step forward. She stepped back. And then she sprang forward. Arm swinging out wildly, hoping to connect anywhere that would deal damage. He caught her fist, but she had expected that and she bought her knee up, aiming for his crotch.

He howled in pain and flung her across the room. There was a sharp crack as she hit the coffee table. She fumbled trying to get her footing. The coffee table had cracked in half when she impacted. Warm, sticky blood flowed from a cut on her brow.

“You’re going to pay for that.”

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Barry skidded to a stop in Charlie’s lounge room, the front door had been hanging wide open and the apartment appeared to be empty. Too frantic to even acknowledge the queasiness in her stomach, Charlie surveyed the room. The state of it confirmed her worst fear. They had arrived too late, just as the guy said they would. The lounge had been completely flipped over, and the coffee table was in two pieces. Pillows were strewn around the room, the farthest having landed in the kitchen.

“Barry we’re too late,” Charlie began. “We’re too late,” she chanted, sobs racking her body. Barry rubbed her back gently, trying to get her breathing to even out.  
**  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are going to try and upload a new chapter every week (most likely on the Friday Australian eastern-standard time) but it may be sooner or later depending on our schedules. Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated. We love feedback, please love us.


	2. All Tied Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reckless-Defense wrote this chapter so blame her for its lateness! :p

When Sam came too, she had no idea where she was. The room was shrouded in darkness, making it impossible for her to make out even the most basic of shapes. Pain was emitting from all over her body, there was a sharp ache pulsating from her shoulder, she hoped it wasn't broken or dislocated, and there was a throbbing, rippling up her side indicating she had either bruised or broken ribs. The agony she was in was the only sign that she hadn't been knocked out for too long, but there was a likely chance she had a concussion.

Ignoring the pain she started to scream.

“Hello! Can anyone hear me?” She yelled trying to draw anyone's attention and let them know she was there. “Is anyone there? Please. Can you help me?” Her voice cracked on the last words, showing how scared she truly was. She waited for a reply but no one answered.

Pain ricocheted up Sam’s arm as she fought against the restraints around her wrists, the rope leaving indentations in her flesh. Kicking her legs didn’t help her situation either, instead it only assisted in contorting her into a weird position leaving her in more pain than she had been originally.

“No, no, no, no, no” she whispered, squeezing her eyes closed, fighting against the tears that began to form, unwilling to allow any of them to fall.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening” Charlie paced back and forth, continuously running her hands through her chocolate brown hair. Her stomach twisted and turned as fear for Sam settled in. She felt like she was going to be sick due to the unpleasant feeling of butterflies in her stomach, not good butterflies either, but like, flesh eating butterflies that were trying to kill her or something.

Feeling a warm hand clasp around her shoulder in a reassuring manner she halted in her movement. “It’ll be okay. She’ll be alright Charlie, we’ll find her before anything can happen, I promise.” Cisco’s voice had a calming effect on Charlie, instantly making her believe him.

Ever since Charlie had first met Cisco she had felt something for him, not just because they were both giant nerds, but because he was genuinely a nice guy. It didn’t take long until that ‘something’ formed into a full blown crush. Only Sam knew about her feelings and she knew Sam wouldn’t say anything, especially considering Sam knew how nervous and scared of rejection Charlie was.

“But you don't understand, he's a creep! He's been following her around for months, he had  photos of her, in his phone, and now we find out he can shapeshift into animals! What the hell? We have to find her, now!” She glanced at everyone as she spoke, a sullen look on all their faces. Caitlin came to the rescue trying to lighten the mood.

“Cisco’s right Charlie, we won't give up until we've stopped this, this...shift-a-man. No, um cat-man. How about Aniguy? Anidude? Uh, maybe just shifter,” Caitlin started to ramble, names fumbling from her lips in an awkward attempt to be cool but, let’s face it, she’s no Cisco.

“Yeah…. No, let's leave the evil villain names to me” Cisco said, gazing over at Caitlin for a moment,  scrunching up his nose as he pretended to be embarrassed on Caitlin’s  behalf, but inside he was silently laughing.

“Sorry,” she shrugged her shoulders innocently her eyebrows raising, while a smile played on her lips, she lifted her arms up as if she was saying ‘I was just helping’. But Cisco just shook his head and smiled at her.

He walked over to his computer and started typing on the keyboard. The screen across from everyone turned on and a blue map came up of the city. As Cisco’s fingers glided across the keyboard, he lifted up one hand to point at the areas being coloured.

“Barry I think you should go and check these places”, on the map the docks were highlighted in red and the underground tunnels were highlighted in green, “also, check places that won't have a lot of people near them during the day. I mean, the guy would probably be planning on keeping her for a while and he won't want an audience. We’ll cross the places you check off as you go, so we know that they aren't there.” He finished typing and walked back over to the group.

“That's a lot of places to check in such a short period of time Cisco,” Barry said.

“Well we have to start somewhere, don't we? And you’re really fast” Cisco started pushing Barry towards the door, to get him moving.

He moved out of Cisco’s clutches and turned around. “I don't think I'm that fast though,” his eyes flicked to Charlie whose face had fallen.

“Come on man” Cisco whispered, “Look how upset she is.”

“Alright, alright i’m going, but tell me over the com the second you have something” Barry disappeared in a flash.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Looking up, Sam scanned the room, she felt like she was being watched; the air had changed and it felt like something was crawling over her skin. At first she over-looked the abnormal shape in the corner of her eye but then she froze and quickly turned back.

A shadow loomed at what she assumed to be the entrance to the room. The hulking mass stepped forward, slowly moving towards where she was sprawled on the ground. She pulled herself into the foetal position to try and protect herself from the oncoming form, but still the figure continued towards her. She closed her eyes and prayed that when she opened them it would have disappeared.

To her ultimate surprise when she did open her eyes the figure, that had originally been human, had actually disappeared.

What lay in its wake though did not leave the warm fuzzies in her stomach.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“She's in a warehouse on 64th street” Cisco calls into the com. Barry had been zooming around for hours in the hopes of finding some hint at where Sam might be.

“How did you find her?” Barry asked.

“I just … Aahh, happened upon some security footage, just lucky I guess” Cisco replied. “Charlie and I are going to start heading over there, you get there first and suss out what's going on. We won't be that far behind.” Cisco and Charlie were already hopping into the van to meet Barry at the warehouse.

“See I told you we’d find her,” Cisco nudged Charlie with his elbow, smiling over at her. She looked at him and returned his smile with a weak one of her own.

“Yeah, but we still have to get her out of there.”

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Sam stared in horrified anticipation, as the bear started pacing back and forth in front of her. She didn't want to know what it was thinking; she didn't feel like being lunch for some overgrown teddy bear.

She had read somewhere making eye contact with a bear and making yourself as big as possible will show it who's boss, hopefully, and it'll leave you be. However, Sam was unable to move to make herself big so she had to settle for keeping eye contact. Staring into the bear's eyes was one of the most nerve racking things she had done in her whole life, but if she didn't do it she mightn't have had a life left, so she continued.

She was gazing into its eyes for what felt like hours and she didn't know how much longer she could go on.

A loud smash sounded, which brought the Bears attention away from Sam, much to her relief and it walked away to investigate. While it was preoccupied Sam went back to trying to undo the rope, at which she was failing miserably.

The door to the place she was in opened with a screech. For the first time Sam could see her surroundings and she realised she was in some type of warehouse.

A red streak shot past, leaving a yellow spark in its path. It speed out of Sam’s view and she felt the ropes fall loose around her wrists. Pulling her hands free she started rubbing them while standing up.

Her head moved to try and follow the red streak but it was just too fast. She heard metal scraping against stone, and the bear roaring from pain.

The bear’s claws shredded through one of the concrete pillars as the flash streaked out of the way.

The bear and the flash were going head to head and didn't notice another person had walked into the warehouse.

“Charlie”, Sam whispered.

Charlie strutted in and with a concentrated look stared at the bear. It went wild. Clawing at its head.

It zeroed in on and Charlie and, realising she was the cause of its pain, ran at her.

“No”, Sam screamed and sprinted over to Charlie. She pushed her out of the way just as the bear’s paw whipped out. It hit her in the side. Sam flew into a brick wall, striking her head on the ground when she landed. And the lights went out.

Sam hissed in pain as an arm went behind her knees and under her arms.

“Hey it’s okay, you’re okay. I'm gonna get you out of here.” Sam was slowly losing consciousness, but she couldn't help but think this stranger had a weird voice. “Sam, listen to me. You have to try and stay awake, you might have a concussion.”

Sam nodded, only half understanding what this voice was saying to her.

She sucked in a breath of air as wind started beating down on her and then finally it stopped.

Feeling something firm under her feet Sam realised she had been placed on the ground.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“Thanks for all the help Bear” Charlie yelled after him, wind wiping her hair around, but it was too late, he was already gone. “So much for taking me home.” She said dropping her hands to her sides.

“Ah huh” she whispered bringing her hand out of her pocket realising she still had her phone in it. “I'll just call Cisco for a lift”. Smiling mischievously to herself, she typed in his number.

“Hey Charlie, what can I do for you” he answered, she could only imagine him swinging around in his chair while eating one of those red liquorice twists he always has.

“Hey Cisco,” she replied sweetly, “I'm kind of stranded. Barry stole my best friend to take her home, but he left me behind and now I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere. I was just wondering if you could come pick me up?”

“Oh sure” she could hear the smile in his voice and a chair scooting away, “anything for you Char. I’m on my way.”

“Thank you” she finished and hung up the phone, letting out a breath of air she wrapped her arms around herself. The crisp autumn air hit her skin and left goosebumps in its wake.

While waiting for Cisco to pick her up, Charlie sat on the kerb and started humming ‘Walking on Sunshine’, to anyone walking or driving by she probably looked like a homeless drunk but she didn't care. They had stopped the bad guy and saved her friend from being creepy stalker guy prey. And shoot her for this, but she was pretty damn happy about it, especially knowing that she would be seeing Cisco in a minute.

The only thing putting a downer on the moment was the dull throbbing she could feel beginning to form at the base of her skull.

Hearing a beep, Charlie looked up and saw Cisco's van in across the road. She stood, walked over and climbed in. “Thanks Cisco,” she smiled at him and pulled her seat belt on.

“No problems Char,” he put the van and gear and drove. The radio was on and it was playing one of her favourite songs ‘Angels’. “Isn't this song great” Cisco said. Tapping his hands on the steering wheel as he drove, he sang the tune under his breath.

“Yeah it is”.

The song ended and Cisco pulled up in front of her apartment. “Thanks again,” Charlie hopped out of the van and it pulled away.

Sam was waiting on the doorstep obviously having forgotten all about her keys, but beamed as Charlie trudged up the steps. “I feel better. Caitlin gave me some painkillers and told me to just get some sleep and I’ll be as good as new. Apparently my injuries weren't as bad as they had originally thought.”

“That's good, can I borrow some of those painkillers, tonight took a lot out of me,” the key slid into the lock and clicked open.

“Sure.”

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Sam awkwardly stood in the entrance for a moment while mentally shuffling through what had happened that night, unable to believe what had transpired. She felt something nudge her back, and turned to find Charlie patiently waiting.

“I can’t believe it. I was abducted by a cat, and then saved by the Flash!”

“I know it’s been a pretty hectic night.” Charlie agreed nodding her head.

“Well I'm exhausted after all of that. I think I might head off to bed,” Sam flicked her head in the direction of the lounge room and sighed.

“It's okay Sam.” Charlie said and lightly pushed Sam's shoulder. “Just go to bed, we’ll fix it tomorrow”.

Sam walked over and grabbed the remote to turn off the TV that was now on the main menu of the movie. She trudged back over to Charlie and gave her a hug before she started to head to bed.

“Goodnight Sammy,” she gave her one last squeeze before letting go. Sam turned to walk away but stopped mid step and looked at Charlie.

“Oh, by the way, I love your batman PJs. They’re very…chic” Sam smiled as she walked down the hall, flicking the obnoxiously yellow cape adjoined to the back of the shirt on her way past.

Charlie looked down and the realisation that she had been wearing her batman pyjamas the whole time hit her. She reached over her shoulder and ripped off the velcro cape holding it in front of her blush covered face, knowing that Cisco had seen her in this. “At least it’s cute,” she whispered, reassuring herself, and walked off to her room to have the night's sleep she fully deserved. **  
**


	3. Coffee House Jitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so sorry. This took forever. We have had this chapter almost finished for months but we both lost all motivation. Thanks to everyone who left kudos

The next morning Sam and Charlie were waiting in the line at Jitters to get coffee. They had woken up early and were both still tired so they had agreed to go get coffee to help wake themselves up. Sam heard someone asking who’s next and realised it was finally their turn to order. She took one long stride towards the counter and faced the lady behind it.

“Hi, I'll have a small double shot black coffee please,” _Just like my soul_ Sam thought and smiled at her joke.

“And I'll have a tall, peppermint, white chocolate mocha, with a double shot of coffee, whipped cream and extra chocolate powder on top,” Charlie added with her finger up in the air for some unknown reason.

“Wow. That, I think, is the longest coffee order I have ever heard.” Sam said as she handed the  money for both coffees to the cashier and stepped off to the side to wait for their coffee to come.

“Yeah well, a girl's gotta live on the edge,” Charlie chuckled. After a minute the coffee orders were placed down on the counter in front of them and they picked them up, took them to a free table in the corner of the shop, which they were lucky to have gotten seeing as how busy the coffee shop actually was, and sat down. Jitters was one of their favourite places to hang out, it wasn't too noisy and the people were always polite, it also helped that the coffee was probably the best in the city.

“So how’s work going at Star Labs lately?” Sam inquired. They hadn't had much time to catch up, especially with Charlie's hero duties with the Flash and the whole saving Sam from creepy stalker guys that turn into animals thing.

“It isn't going too bad, I’m really busy all the time though. I really miss just us two girls hanging out like this.”

“Yeah well being a superhero can have it down sides.” Sam said, then took a sip of her coffee and sighed. “This is the stuff isn't it.”

“Yep,” Charlie replied while taking a large guzzle of her drink. Sam didn't know how the girl put the coffee away so fast. She was almost already finished.

“Maybe you should take it a bit easy on the coffee. You’ll be bouncing off of walls in no time.” The coffee cup was keeping her hands warm and it felt wonderful.

There was a thud and a loud sigh indicating Charlie had finished her coffee. Sam looked over at her and saw her sliding down her chair like she was going to disappear under the table. “What are you doing?” Sam asked.

“That, was blissful,” Charlie said, almost like she was in a daze which was obviously put on. The the table rattled as she tried to sit back up properly, “and there goes the blissfulness. I gotta go.”

“Go where?” Sam was worrying that she would be stuck here by herself to finish her coffee. And only a moment after they had just said that they needed to hang more.

“To the bathroom, that coffee might taste divine but it's bad for the bladder. I'll be right back.” And she ran off to go to the bathroom.

Sam had been keeping to herself, drinking her coffee and reading a magazine that Jitters supplied on the tables, while Charlie was in the bathroom when she saw grey converse clad feet enter her line of sight.

“Um, hi,” She looked up to find a cute guy with brown hair and crystal blue eyes smiling down at her, “You must be Sam.” He held out his hand for her to shake and took it, wondering why a complete stranger knew her name.

“And you are…” Sam replied, still shaking his hand.

“Oh sorry, my names Barry Allen. I'm one of Charlie's friends from Star labs. She told me she was going to be here.” They both looked down at their hands and pulled apart quickly.

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Barry of Star labs. Char will be back in a moment she's just gone to the ladies room,” Sam quickly took a sip of her coffee as she cringed at what she had just said, _omg he probably thinks i'm a weirdo or something i can't believe i said that._

“Okay. Is it okay if I just wait here until she comes out then.”

“Sure,” she smiles at him, he slid into the seat beside her and rested his arms on the table.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Charlie walked out of the bathroom to see Sam sitting next to a guy. A guy who she soon realised was Barry. Sam noticed Charlie soon after and looked at her like her eyes were about to pop out of her head, while simultaneously darting her eyes towards Barry and back to Charlie quickly, and trying to subtly tilt her head in his direction.

Charlie got the hint and made her way over to her friends at the table.

“Sorry I took so long the line was hectic. Hey Barry, what are you doing here?” She asked, while taking her seat.

“Well I was actually going to come to see Iris, but then I got your text and decided I would check up on you while I was here.” He propped his head up on his hand, “So how are you holding up?”

“We’re great,” Charlie fiddled with her empty cup and tried to suppress a yawn. Sam’s mouth started to open, as though she was about to say something when a phone suddenly went off. Barry’s hands flew out and he fumbled around in his pockets before finally finishing out his phone. The girls stared at him intently as he had a muffled conversation with whoever was on the other side consisting mostly of noises of affirmation.

“Alright then, that was Cisco, I need to head to the lab there's an emergency that's come up.”

“Anything I need to help with?” Charlie asked.

“No I think we’ve got it. Continue with your breakfast.”

“Okay, bye.” She waved lamely.

“Bye,” Barry stood up out of his seat, instead of leaving he suddenly lent back down onto the table.

“Hey are you doing anything tonight?” Barry asked, speaking directly to Sam “Because I’ve been asked to go to karaoke with Eddie and Iris but I don't really want to be a third wheel, so I was wondering if you would like to come, well both of you”

Sam stared with a dumbfounded expression on her face and Charlie realised she wasn't go to reply so she did instead. “Yes of course we’ll come” she smiled innocently, “but why didn't you invite Cisco, and Caitlin?”

“That's actually a great idea. I'll go ask them now. I'll see you both tonight, okay?”

“Yes definitely,” Charlie confirmed. They both watched Barry race out the door. “Owww” Charlie yelped when she felt a hard sting on her shoulder. “What was that for!” She turned to Sam who still had her hand raised and was staring towards the door the way Barry just left. She slowly turned her head towards Charlie.

“Why didn't you introduce me to him sooner?” She hissed at her trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

“I’m sorry, It just didn't cross my mind.”

“Well, now we get to see him tonight anyway,” Sam grinned.

“We get to see him? More like you get to see him. I don't particularly care if I see him tonight I see him all the time. Let's go get ready.” Charlie said dragging her friend towards the door Barry had just excited moments before.  

“Seriously, now? How long does it take you to get ready for something?” Sam said, while willingly being dragged by her friend.

“Well, we need to shower, do our makeup, do our hair, find the perfect clothes to wear…” Charlie continued while Sam casually nodded along although not listening anymore. “... ‘Cause you need to be smokin’ for Barry.”

“Wait, what?” Sam startled, catching the end of Charlie's sentence.

“Never mind,” Charlie smirked, finally letting up on Sam's arm but the smile never left her face.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“Hey Bear,” Charlie grinned, Sam stood awkwardly behind her. Charlie looked around to see where everyone was. Secretly hoping Cisco would show up.

“If you’re looking for Cisco something came up and he can’t make it. Caitlin, on the other hand,  will be here in a little bit,she has some work to finish up first” Charlie deflated when she heard this news, but tried not to make it visible to everyone else.

“Oh, okay.”   

“Well I guess we should go in, I think Eddie and Iris are already inside waiting.”

“Yes! Onward we go,” Charlie pointed and started skipping inside leaving Barry and Sam outside. They stared at each other for a second.

“I guess we better go in then”, Barry said smiling while motioning his arms for Sam to go in first.

Sam waited just inside the door for Barry to walk in after her, because she had no idea where she was going. She took in her surroundings and her eyes widened in awe. The place was beautiful. It had LED lights lining crevices that were sunken into the walls, along with paintings of street art, that read karaoke and bowling alley. She had never been to a place like this, her and Charlie had always planned on coming to bowl one day, but they were always so busy and had never gotten the time to.

Barry finally lead them to the last room along the back wall, it was a bit on the small side, not quite big enough for all six of them to dance in, but big enough to be comfortable. Iris and Eddie were already seated on the lounge with the touch pad controller held between them. Four microphones sat on the dining table, each with a different colour handle.

“Hey Bear,” Iris smiled and stood up to give him a hug, “hey Charlie, andddd Sam, right?”

“Yeah,” Sam smiled shyly, “it's nice to finally meet you properly.”

“Hey everyone,” Eddie waved awkwardly from the couch.

“Okay, now who wants to sing first? Wait a second… aren't we missing someone?” Iris inquired.

“Ah yes, just Caitlin, because Cisco couldn’t come,” Charlie responded quickly, pouting slightly.

“Okay, then I guess we can start then,” Iris said happily, handing out the microphones.

And night went on and was filled with much fun and singing and joking.

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“You never told me how much of a q-tee he was” Sam giggled. Sam and Charlie were sitting in the middle of the lounge room, on the new soft, fluffy rug, eating pizza, having gotten rid of the coffee table and rug when it was smashed during the struggle with Frank. “So, Charrrr,” she said slightly nudging her with her elbow. “This Cisco guy that you talk about so much, what's he likeeee.” Sam smiled mischievously.

“Oh, don't you start. Not after you called that dork, Barry, a q-tee before.” she shook her head but never meeting Sam's eyes.

“Aw, you act so hard done by babe.” Looking down at Charlie's phone she quickly snatched it up. “ At least show me a picture of him.” Charlie quickly ripped the phone out of Sam's hand and stuck it under her bum.

“I don't have any of him. I'm not a damned stalker, unlike some people we know.” She said making a subtle hint at Frank.

“How about you ‘show’ me a picture of him,”she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Charlie.

“Are you deaf, I just told you I don't have one,” Charlie looked up to see Sam and her eyebrows, “Oh, no. Nope. No.” She stood up wiping her hands on her pants for extra emphasis. “I don't even know if I can do something like that, I could hurt you!”

“Come on! It's harmless.” She crawled over to the now standing Charlie and grabbed her hand to pull her back down. “Please,” she had resorted to begging.

“Fine I'll try, but if it doesn't work the first time I'm not going to try again.”

“Yes, that's fine” she complied giving a tug on Charlie's arm one last time until she joined her back on the ground. They faced each other, their legs both crossed while holding the others hand. Charlie had her eyes closed to concentrate, but Sam was to giddy so she just sat their staring at Charlie waiting for something to happen.

Charlie glanced at Sam silently asking if anything had happened. Sam shook her head.

“Well close yours eyes, it may help some.”

“Okay,” she breathed out quickly, shaking there adjoined hands and relaxed, closing her eyes.

A haze began to form in Sam’s mind. At first she thought it was just her mind playing tricks on her, getting too into the moment, but then she felt something twist in her mind and an image started to form, an image of a man.

He had shoulder length hair, and olive skin, quite attractive she would say if it wasn't for the big red clown nose in the middle of his face.

“Ummm…” She started to say but then the red nose disappeared, replaced with a cute button nose (of regular nose variety… Not literally a button).

“I'm sorry, I think that happened cause I think he’s funny..” Charlie opened her eyes the same moment Sam opened hers.

“That was awesome,” Sam shrieked, bouncing around on the floor. “He's so cute. You have good taste Char.”

“I know right,” Charlie laughed rolling backwards with her legs up in the air. Smiling to herself. Suddenly she shot back up.

“But guess what.”

“What?” Sam asked.

“Your mind is really strong. It took me way longer to get in there then it usually does.”

“Yeah, well, that's just because... I'm fabulous,” Sam flicked her hair and stood up laughing. “I'm going to head off to bed,” she flicked her head in the direction of the clock. “ You should to it's getting really late.”

“You’re right,” Charlie stood up, “I have to be up early in the morning anyway. It's going to kill me. Night loser.”

“Night,” Sam put her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss at Charlie the two girls walked off in opposite directions to their rooms to go to bed.


	4. A Dark Thought Occured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did we just not post for months and then post two chapters in 10 minutes? ... yes, yes we did.

“Sam…  Get down !”  Charlie grabbed her arm, dragging her down behind the chair. 

“ What are you doing?” Sam questioned, before a blast was sent out that had everyone in the bank grabbing their heads in pain. “ What the hell  Charlie !” Sam whispered ferociously.

“It’s not me,”  Charlie replied, as the dull ache started to subside. Many of the civilians closest to the door had passed out during the initial wave, though some further back were still awake and were blinking back the pain. There was a few seconds respite before the next wave hit.  That was all the time  Charlie needed to figure out who was behind the attack. Barry had fought her before, back when  Charlie was still in training and wasn't allowed on the field. Her name was Sophia Dewey, 28 years of age, but her codename was Dark Thought, a name  Caitlin took great pride in. She was a metahuman capable of using vicious psychic attacks which could have drastic consequences for her victims. It was unusual though, for her to attack a bank.  Charlie remembered reading her file, she had only ever attacked corrupt business owners, and never at a time where civilian casualties could occur.

Quickly clearing her mind of distractions and focusing on the attacker,  Charlie managed to make a psychic connection faster than she ever had before. Brief images of Sophia’s life flashed through her mind.  The older memories were dull and faded, ebbing and flowing, like sand falling through her outstretched fingers. Newer memories were sharper, more intense, a blast of light as the particle accelerator explodes, the slamming of a door as the love of her life leaves forever, the sharp scent of citrus, a man in a yellow suit. 

The next psionic blast felt like a knife piercing the  center of  Charlie ’s brow, a stabbing pain so intense that her vision blurred. Then the ache spread, first outward, then inward, until she thought her head was going to explode. She clenched her jaw involuntarily. Charlie tasted the metallic tang of blood before she felt it, thick and warm, spilling out over her parted lips.  _ I must have  _ _ bitten my tongue _ _ ,  _ she thought bitterly. She saw a figure, Sam, kneeling over her, eyes wide and panicked. And then she was gone, replaced only with an unending sea of black. 

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“Charlie. Charlie are you ok?” Sam’s voice was a frantic whisper. Charlie had gone rigid, her eyes unfocused, as though she was in a far off world. She cried out as she fell forward, her body distorted into a tight ball. Sam scurried over to her, hands flying out to try to sooth her friends violent shaking. Sam felt a warm silky liquid against her fingertips. Her eyes widened when she saw where the crimson fluid came from. 

“Shit, come on  Charlie .  Do n’t you dare do this to me.” Sam almost didn’t see the  flash of scarlet when the speedster arrived, nearly missing him as he sped after Dark Thought, her eyes widened in surprise. Electricity flowed around him as he took Dark Thought down. It was all over in a matter of seconds and in a blink of an eye he was gone. Sam felt the first pinprick of tears forming in her eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to keep them at bay. Charlie had stilled when the  Flash disappeared with the villain in tow, but she showed no signs of waking.

Sam panicked when Charlie was suddenly removed from her grasp. She felt the ground go out from under her and her hands flew out to catch herself, but she was not falling, as she had originally thought. Instead Sam was being carried. Sam felt sharp stings on her face as it was whipped by the short strands of her blond hair dancing in the wind. She was gently placed into a cushioned white chair. Numb cheeked and glassy eyed she looked about frantically trying to get her bearings. She appeared to be in some sort of hospital room, except it was definitely not the hospital. She heard the distinct click-clack of high heeled shoes on hard flooring. At first Sam didn’t recognise the woman that joined her in the room. Then in struck her.

“Caitlin?”  

“Sam?” Caitlin’s nose scrunched up in surprise. There was a rush of wind as the red streak swept past them and placed a limp body on the bed beside Sam. “Charlie!” Caitlin rushed over to the bedside, stopping on the opposite side to Sam, who still hadn’t risen from the chair. Caitlin bustled about the room performing tests. 

After a while she stopped suddenly. “B-, uh, Flash,” Caitlin started, “Her vitals appear to be normal.” 

“So she’s gonna be ok?” He asked, and Sam realised that his voice actually did sound weird, like he was using a voice modifier, and it hadn’t just been her half conscious mind playing tricks on her.

“Surprisingly… Yes. With Dark Thought’s psionic blasts, and Charlie’s mental based powers, well, I expected it to cause a lot more damage. The theoretical best case scenario for Charlie right now should be... a coma, but she's almost completely fine. There is still a chance of memory loss but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up.” 

“Memory loss? Would it be permanent, how likely is it?” Sam’s panic had begun to rise again, her muscles ached from the tension but she couldn’t relax. 

“I don’t know…” The wavering in Caitlin’s voice did nothing to quell the fear that had settled in Sam’s stomach. She dropped back into the chair, and stared, disconsolate, at Charlie’s unmoving form. 

“Sam,” a strange voice whispered. “Sam.” Her eyes flew open, and she jumped out of the seat, throwing her hands up in a defensive pose. “I come in peace,” he chuckled quietly. 

“Sorry,” she muttered. 

“You should head home, I can take you there if you want. Charlie will be fine, Caitlin is really good at what she does. And she’ll call you if there are any changes. I could get you back here in, well, in a flash.” Slightly chuckling at his own joke. Sam couldn’t help the smile inching it’s way onto her face, even though everything that had occurred. Who knew the Flash was a rambler? 

“Okay,” she sighed.

“You see I expected you to say that, but you really should get to bed and… Wait did you say okay?” 

“Yes okay, I’ll go home to bed. On the condition you come get me if anything happens with her.” He grinned as he picked her up bridal style, Sam noticed that it appeared to be his preferred carrying method, and zoomed away. 

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

The first thing Charlie became aware of was the dull throbbing at the base of her skull. The second was the soft whirring of machinery. She blinked open her eyes, but closed them again immediately, blinded by the fluorescent whiteness of the room. She slowly adjusted her eyes to the brightness and sat up in what she now knew was the bed in Star labs infirmary. She winced when she pulled the cannula out of her arm, before unhooking herself from the monitor. Charlie was glad when it didn’t go off, she didn’t think her head would have been able to take the high pitched beeping. She was halfway across the room when the doorway became blocked.

“Charlie what are you doing!” Caitlin said accusingly, hands splayed on her hips.

“Uhhh…”

“Char you’re awake!” Cisco grinned before pulling her in for a hug. She hugged him back, inhaling deeply as she buried her face into his shoulder. Overwhelmed by the scent of clean laundry and something that she could only describe as  _ Cisco _ she hummed quietly into his jacket as her eyes fluttered closed, comfortable in his warm embrace.

“Charlie! You set off the silent alarm! I thought you flat-lined.” Caitlin said holding up the ipad.

“I’m sorry,” Charlie mumbled, wiggling out of Cisco’s grasp. Caitlin was the next to hug her,  albeit a little more roughly than Cisco had. Than proceeded to pull her, by her hand, back to the bed. 

“How do you feel?” Caitlin asked, as she took Charlie’s temperature.

“Okay I guess, I have a killer headache though,” she replied allowing Caitlin to continue her doctoring. Barry jumped up from his spot leaning against the wall and ran in a second later, a glass of water in one hand and painkillers in the other. “Ah, my favourite delivery boy,” Charlie smirked gladly accepting the painkillers. 

“Sam left a few hours ago, she’s super worried about you,” Barry said leaning back against the wall. “What were you doing in the bank by yourself anyway, you’re supposed to call if anything happens.”

“Bear, I was getting money out to pay rent, and I wasn't alone,” Charlie said swallowing the pain killers in one gulp, “I was with Sam,” she continued, sounding condescending. 

“Right, of course  that makes sense,” He replied sheepishly. “Although she isn't any help against a meta human…” Barry muttered to himself, Charlie just caught it but decided to let it slide.

“It’s remarkable,” Caitlin mumbled, “You shouldn’t be okay, I mean, you don’t have fast healing like Barry and yet you… you’re okay.” Charlie shrunk slightly under Caitlin’s intense gaze. “You need to rest more at least,” Caitlin said, pulling the covers up to Charlie’s chin. Charlie made a quiet sound of agreement before quickly falling back to sleep. 

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

Charlie heard voices being carried across the empty corridor and followed them to the room that had been converted into a living area.

“So, you like her right?” Barry said grinning ear to ear. 

“What, no.” Cisco answered slowly.

Barry’s brazen reply was a simple, “Yes you do.” 

“Of course I do she’s sweet and funny and adorable…” Charlie skidded to a halt, her sneaker clad feet squeaking against the floor. Her chest felt tight, the thought of Cisco liking someone was enough to cause her heart to twist painfully in her chest. Not to say she hadn’t thought about it before, but hearing him say that left a bitter taste in her mouth. She started walking again suddenly, so as not to appear to have been eavesdropping and leant casually against the doorframe when she came to it.

“Hey…” Charlie tried to keep her voice even.

“Char, you’re back in the world of the living I see,” Barry replied and cheekily bopped her on the nose. 

“Did I really look that bad earlier?” Charlie asked eyebrows furrowing together.

“You looked a bit like death warmed up.” Cisco replied quietly a furious blush splattered across his cheeks. 

“Right… What were you guys talking about?” 

“Nothing,” both boys answered in unison, far too quickly for it to be considered true. 

~ ✿ ~ ✿ ~ ✿~

“I didn’t hear you come in last night.” Sam yawned, sleepily rubbing her eyes as she took a seat at the breakfast bar. She picked up the coffee that was set out in front of her and slowly started sipping. 

“I came back late, didn’t wanna wake you up,” Charlie replied smiling warmly at her friend, cracking another egg into the pan. The soft sizzling of breakfast, the early morning breeze ruffling the kitchen curtains, and Charlie’s quiet humming to the tune of the pokemon theme song all brought a sense of normality to the morning. Sam could almost believe that the past few days were just bad dreams. 

“Is that your work shirt?” Sam asked. While pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting at the bar. 

“Yeah, I have a shift in half an hour,” Charlie replied absentmindedly.

“You can’t go to work, you almost died yesterday.” Sam put her coffee down a bit too firmly, the black liquid splashing up over the rim of the cup and leaving a dark puddle on the white marble of the counter top. 

“Sam, we’re both university students with crippling debt and an apartment to pay for, we need the money. It’s only a dvd rental store, no heavy lifting, I get to sit behind a desk and stare at a computer screen, I’ll be fine.” She turned and placed two plates down on the bar.  “Besides, you have class so you can’t stop me.” She waved her spatula about wildly in Sam’s direction and laughed evilly. 

There was a soft bang as Sam’s head hit the table, a quiet sigh escaped her parted lips as she gave up on trying to dissuade her friend. “Fine,” she huffed, “but be super duper extra double whipped with a  cherry on top careful.”

“That made no sense, but you know I always am.” Charlie chirped cheerfully and started eating her breakfast. 

Sam guzzled her portion down in record time and jump out of her chair. “I guess I better get ready then.”

“Ready for what? You don't have school until a bit later.”

“I'm going to come to work with you.”

“What! Why?” Charlie cried lamely.

“Because your, ‘you know I always am’ didn't  exactly inspire confidence in me, because as of late you haven't been.” 

“But you have class.” Charlie said matter of factly, proud of her witty statement.

“I can skip for once. Maybe. Or….maybe I could gooo… No I can do it. I will do it. You won't change my mind. I'm going to work with you.”


End file.
